Of course, this is an active and very competitive market with few opportunities and high barriers to entry. To forge ahead, Ruehle and Deierling say that they will focus on off-market deals. “Off-market deals tend to produce the best results,” explains Deierling. “We have grown up in the industry with most of the brokers here in Southern California, having developed solid relationships with them over time. We are confident those relationships will breed off-market opportunities, which provides us a great opportunity to execute on our value-add strategy.”

They are already producing results. The new firm recently closed on its first deal, a 42,000-square-foot single-tenant property in Garden Grove, which it purchased for $5.43 million. While they wouldn't reveal their business plan just yet—they said that in general, they are remaining nimble and adapting their strategy asset to asset. “We are opportunistic based on each specific the property. We strongly believe in our relationships and our ability to source value-add opportunities,” adds Deierling. “In addition to uncovering deals, we feel like the timing in the market is an opportune time to develop deep relationships with our capital partners. We are confident the combination of the two will establish the foundation for long-term success now as well as once the market cycles into more of a buyer friendly environment.”

While it hasn't set out any specific capital placement goals for the year, the firm is activity looking at other opportunities throughout the Southern California market.